Page 144 of Feral Alphas

His thick velvet scent wraps all around me like a blanket. “Then sleep, sweetheart. I’ll be here when you wake.”

The other alphas drop around me, also knocked out by Luka’s powerful scent. Uno fights it and I reach for his hand, letting him know we’re all safe now. Oblivion laps at me and I fall, circled in the arms of my alphas.

Chapter fifty-five

Luka

My heart swells as I stare at the beautiful omega sleeping between my arms. Uno snores softly with his head planted on her stomach, and the air is thick with our hormones. Rose’s is the strongest scent of them all, her heat still blazing.

“You awake, Luka?” Colt murmurs, almost directly in my ear.

“Yes, Sir,” I say, turning my shoulder into him a little.

His meaty hand snakes over my hip. “She hasn’t slept this well in two weeks.”

I smile lovingly at the blonde woman who’s captured our hearts, and our energy. “I’ve never heard of such a strong heat. Lucky the Omega Center warned you about it.”

I reach out to check the handcuff isn’t digging into her skin. Colt padded his work cuffs with fabric, but I’ll have to make sure I order some designed for this. The half-empty bag of clear IV fluid hangs on the nest support chains overhead.

“Mmm,” Colt hums, sliding his nose along the back of my head.

I tense as everything that’s happened between us rushes through my mind.

“Got something to say?” he asks as if he can read my thoughts.

“I’m really sorry, Sir. I never wanted to betray you.”

He sighs, his warm breath tickling my cheek. “Why did you do it, Luka?”

The bed rocks a little as Kye sits up, and I feel his gaze tracking over my body. I cover my eyes in shame as I groan. “We needed the money, Colt. We had thousands in bills to pay, and then that damn reporter showed up and I wanted to get security cameras.” I snarl softly at my own stupidity. “I should have realized then it was a kennel scout.”

Colt’s body vibrates with a silent growl, and I rest my hand on his. “Rose walked in on my filming and someone in the ICU site saw her legs in my feed. Just like that they offered me two grand.”

I squeeze my eyes against the fresh waves of pain. “I wanted to tell you, but that day you said how proud you were of me saving money from your paycheck.” My voice catches as tears lodge in my throat. “There was never any fucking savings.”

“And I never paid Luka any money that week,” Kye whispers.

Colt goes quiet for a long moment, and I feel ready to snap from tension by the time he finally speaks. “Tell me something. Did you always skip lunch to cut costs?”

A tiny spasm runs through my chest. “Well—”

“The truth, Luka.”

Fuck, I suppose there’s no way around it. “Yeah. Seemed like one way to save a few dollars, and knowing it was keeping my bowels clear made it worth it.”

Colt’s head grows heavier on my shoulder. “I guess we both owe each other apologies then.”

I rise up on my elbows, hissing. “Never! You always gave me more than I deserved! It was never a problem until the house filled up!”

Colt reaches up and strokes the edge of my mouth, his hazel eyes glinting in the shadowed room. “I’m sorry I hit you and threwyou out without hearing your story. It’ll never happen again.” His thumb presses into the faint scab. “I’m the one who said to talk it out when there’s an issue, but I didn’t give you a chance.”

The loving look on his face makes my heart seize.

“And you’re not a whore. You found a way to make money doing something you love, and I’m proud of you for that.”

Heat pours through my chest, melting me to pieces. Instead of rejecting me, Colt welcomed me back into his life, and I know it’s not just because our omega needs me. His forgiveness carried me through the two weeks in hospital, and strangely, I didn’t even feel like killing the medical staff.

I’ve been reborn. And I finally realized something while I lay in those white sheets. I don’t have to be worthy to say the words. I only have to mean them.

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